Fire destroys Becker's Tire in Grand Gorge

Above: An Arkville Fire Department truck at the scene of a fire at Becker's Tire Service on Route 30 in Grand Gorge. Photo by Lissa Harris.

A massive fire that broke out just past midnight on Thursday night gutted Becker's Tire Service, a longstanding local business on Route 30 in Grand Gorge.

Firefighters were dispatched to the blaze at 12:19am, said Delaware County Emergency Services director Rich Bell, who was on the scene Friday along with county and state investigators. No one was in the building at the time the fire broke out.

Between 15 and 20 local fire departments responded to the fire, Bell said.

"They battled it for hours before getting it under control," said Bell.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, Bell said.

The building was a total loss, said owners Richard and Machelle Haight, longtime employees who purchased the business from its former owners in 2008.

Richard said the business had just gotten a large delivery of new stock, which was destroyed in the fire.

"We just got a delivery of 2,000 snow tires for the winter," he said.

Becker's has been in operation since 1959, and is a prominent local business. The Haights say they will rebuild as soon as they can.

Richard said he was grateful to the firefighters that responded.

"They did an unbelievable job," he said. "I was just so thankful that no one was hurt."

Update, 4pm: Local filmmaker Jessica Vecchione was on the scene Friday morning and took some footage, including interviews with firefighters. Video embedded below.